WASHINGTON (AP) â¿¿ A report released Friday showed that consumer confidence fell in July to its lowest point in nearly a year. A volatile stock market, near-double-digit unemployment, lackluster wage gains and a stalled housing market have raised fears that the recovery is on the verge of stalling.

Americans reacted by clamping down on their spending in May and June. Many cut back after the stock market lost about 10 percent of its value over the past three months, as Europe's debt crisis shook Wall Street. The resulting loss of household wealth has left many Americans less inclined to spend.

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Stocks drop on weak consumer sentiment, bank earns

NEW YORK (AP) â¿¿ Investors are finding disappointment everywhere and taking out their frustration on stocks.

Stocks slumped Friday after banks' second-quarter earnings fell short of expectations and a new survey found that consumers are becoming more pessimistic. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 261 points, and all the major market indexes dropped more than 2.5 percent. Interest rates fell in the Treasury market as investors once again sought the safety of government securities.

For the week, the Dow is down 1 percent, the S&P 500 is down 1.2 percent, and the Nasdaq is down 0.8 percent.